


understanding

by Noa



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Canon Compliant, Developing Relationship, Grinding, M/M, Mild Blood, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Niles being Niles, Requested fic, Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-31 02:33:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6452047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Noa/pseuds/Noa
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I can leave,” Odin says, not wanting to cause Niles any more trouble than he already has.</p><p>“Shut up, you absolute fool,” Niles whispers.</p>
            </blockquote>





	understanding

Odin treads carefully, the grass cool under his bare feet as he makes his way from his tent to Niles. It’s a familiar route, though usually traveled the other way around, and not usually traveled after midnight. Still, Odin navigates with ease, and takes a breath before he slips inside his lover’s tent.

He’s greeted with darkness, a vice grip, and an arrowhead against his throat.

Too startled to make a sound, Odin just freezes, panic-stricken and terrified. He’s defenseless, and any fight he could’ve put up had been effectively put out by two fingers pressing strongly into a pressure point on his shoulder. The sharp metal grazing the soft skin right above Odin's Adam’s apple makes him hold his breath.

For a second, just a second, Odin fears for his life.

But then the hold on his body weakens, and the arrowhead is lowered. Odin blinks, his eyes still adjusting to the darkness (there was always a fire going in camp, but Niles’s tent was dark as the void). He feels a bit dizzy, trying to wrap his head around what just happened.

“..Odin,” Niles says, letting go of Odin altogether, and Odin collapses onto his knees, overwhelmed by the emotional roller coaster he just rode. Niles shifts his weight awkwardly between his feet, and belatedly tosses the arrowhead into a corner. He offers an unarmed hand to Odin. Odin flinches away from the gesture, and the sight of it stings, but Niles waits. Odin recovers, takes Niles’s hand with an apologetic look in his eyes, and lets Niles pull him back up onto his feet.

“Niles,” Odin finally says, still a bit shaky. “Not quite the welcome I was hoping for.”

Niles steps away for a moment, and lights two candles. With his tent dimly illuminated, he sits down on his bedroll, and rubs his temples. He seems just as out of sorts as Odin, though he has a very different way of expressing it.

“Why are you here,” Niles then asks, and Odin slumps like a sad puppy.

“I… I thought I’d come see you.” Odin looks down at his feet. He hadn't even considered that Niles might not want him here. “You’re always the one visiting me, I just... wanted to surprise you?”

Niles stares at Odin for a moment. Then he shakes his head with a defeated chuckle.

“You did.”

Odin tries a careful grin, unsure of what he’s supposed to do. Niles notices his discomfort, and pats the space next to him. Odin sits himself down, and watches as Niles reaches for his hand to interlace their fingers. Odin doesn’t flinch this time.

“I didn’t mean to-” Odin starts, quieting when Niles squeezes his hand.

“Odin,” Niles says, sounding scarily serious. “Promise me something.”

Odin swallows, and nods.

“Don’t ever sneak up on me again.”

Odin nods quickly. He feels his palm go sweaty against Niles’s fingers. Niles studies him for a moment, and then gives a defeated sigh.

“You’re bleeding,” He says.

“What?”

Niles reaches out for Odin’s chin, and tips it up slightly. Turns out the arrowhead nicked his throat, and drew blood. It’s not until Niles’s fingers brush at the wound that Odin feels it, and he hisses quietly. Niles’s eyes flash with something Odin can’t read.

“Don’t move,” Niles orders. He doesn’t sound mad. He doesn't even sound annoyed, but Odin still feels a bit nervous. He watches as Niles gets up and extinguishes the candles with his fingertips (Odin can’t imagine sticking his hands into fire like that, but Niles swears it goes too fast to feel). Darkness floods the tent, and Odin can hear Niles rummage around before he returns to the bed.

“I can leave,” Odin says, not wanting to cause Niles any more trouble than he already has.

“Shut up, you absolute fool,” Niles whispers.

Then, Niles’s hands are on Odin’s shoulders, and he pushes him carefully onto his back. The sheets barely cushion him from the hard ground, but Odin is used to it. The army’s been traveling for a while now. Everyone’s used to it.

The warmth of Niles’s body covers him, weighs down on his hips, and Odin stares up at him with confusion when Niles starts undoing the buttons of Odin’s night shirt. He pushes the fabric away from his torso, and guides Odin’s head back again, inspecting the small cut on his throat.

“Does it hurt,” Niles asks. Odin shakes his head. Niles hums. He leans down to brush his lips at the scratch, and Odin squeezes his eyes shut, because that _did_ hurt. Niles feels him stiffen, and pulls back, kissing him on the mouth instead. Odin tastes blood on his lips.

Niles looks at him with an intensity that makes Odin’s skin prickle. He swipes his thumb along Odin’s stained lips, and then kisses his own fingers. It takes Odin a moment to understand what he’s doing, and once he does, his breath catches.

“Niles-” Odin tries, feeling like they have to talk first. He wants to make sure Niles is okay, wants to know what’s going on inside his head.

“Odin,” Niles cuts him off, obviously not in the mood to talk. “Let me give you the welcome you _were_ hoping for.”

Niles leans down, slips his thigh between Odin’s legs, and Odin resigns to his fate with an airy gasp.

Niles doesn’t have any special clothes he sleeps in; he sleeps naked (turns out he doesn’t just say that to fluster others). He's fully dressed now though, and this means that there are currently three layers of fabric between Niles’s thigh and Odin’s crotch, which in Odin’s humble opinion is three too many. His fingers curl into the sheets as he's covered in kisses, pushing his hips up into Niles’s slow thrusts.

All the adrenaline and nervousness still rushing through his blood evaporates under Niles’s undivided attention, and Odin notices he’s going slow, much slower than usual. When he tries to touch Niles’s hair, Niles catches his hand, and kisses the inside of Odin’s wrist.

“Don’t,” he says, and Odin nods dumbly, letting his hand drop back to his side.

(It took a long time before Niles let Odin touch him. It was a fragile, sensitive process for them both, learning how to act around each other, which limits were okay to push, and which weren’t. With time and patience, they worked their way towards Odin’s fingers threading through Niles’s hair, Odin’s soft palms on his arms, an occasional embrace. Niles never told Odin _why_ he doesn’t like to be touched, but Odin never pressed the matter. He had secrets of his own.)

Niles wasn’t that great at apologies. He obviously hadn’t meant to attack Odin, but it was second nature to him to sleep with one eye open, to protect himself from any possible threat. When he heard approaching footsteps, he couldn’t make them out, and thus prepared himself for the worst.

It wasn’t Niles’s fault- but it wasn’t Odin’s fault, either. Seeing genuine fear in Odin’s face was more painful than Niles expected, and yet he couldn’t bring himself to apologize.

Can’t bring himself to say sorry. Not with words, anyway.

“N-Niles, _oh_ -” Odin moans softly.

“That’s it,” Niles whispers, his breath hot against Odin’s ear.

He makes gentle love, soft touches, tender kisses, building Odin up slow. He feels Odin melt, feels the tension seep from his bones, feels the vulnerable surrender that is so typically Odin that it makes his heart swell.

When Odin’s legs start to twitch, when his breathing breaks up more and more, Niles presses his lips to Odin’s throat and whispers healing magic into his skin. A white glow sinks into the wound, knits Odin’s barely torn skin back together, and Odin throws his head back with a muted cry as he comes.

*

Niles settles behind Odin, and wraps his arms around Odin’s waist. Odin welcomes the embrace, drowsy and sated, straining slightly to press a weak little kiss to Niles’s shoulder.

Yet, even content and fucked out, Niles can sense Odin’s still troubled. He closes his eyes, and squeezes Odin a bit closer. He steels himself.

“I’m.. I mean,” Niles rarely stammers. The fact that he stammers now tells Odin all he needs to know. Odin squirms to turn in Niles’s arms, and faces him. He touches his cheek, brushes the pads of his fingers down the stubble along Niles’s jaw. Niles doesn't stop him.

“Me too,” Odin says quietly. Niles smiles. They reach an understanding.

Niles leans in, and kisses Odin’s lips. Odin sighs sweetly against Niles’s mouth, and brings his arms up to lace around his neck. When the kiss ends, Niles inspects Odin’s throat one more time.

“Flawless,” he concludes. “It didn’t even leave a mark.”

Odin snorts at the slight disappointment evident in Niles’s voice. His eyes sparkle with mischief, and he wiggles a bit closer to Niles underneath the covers.

“Are you sure?” Odin asks. Niles immediately catches on, and his lips pull into a grin.

“Actually,” Niles muses, “Let me check again.”

Odin yelps when Niles all but pounces him, all tickling fingers and teasing bites, and he reminds himself that even though they’ve still got a long way to go, there’s no one he’d rather travel with.


End file.
